Our Advisory Council

Fatema Hamdani is an engaged, curious and driven entrepreneur with experience spanning over 17 years in successfully building startup businesses to further developing large organizations. Her experience spans the Aerospace, Financial Services, Life Science, Travel and Retail domains. As a global businesswoman with a pedigree in international business, she calls New York City her home. She has run successful companies in North America through to Europe and Asia Pacific, and brings a truly global perspective to technology and innovation. She is highly skilled at guiding companies ranging from Fortune 500 businesses through to startups with all aspects of their digital strategies, leveraging big data and analytics for customer acquisition, customer retention and engagement.

John Griffin spent his early career working for a number of top South African advertising and marketing agencies. He then left the ‘safety’ of this corporate environment to set up his own business, specialising in corporate communications and business presentations. In the past 14 years, he has developed a brand consultancy service that addresses the needs of both large international corporations and smaller companies for market analysis, brand building and positioning, as well as staff training. Most recently, he has developed his longstanding interests in sound engineering and fine art photography, and is now taking these in a professional direction. He has considerable knowledge of, and passion for, the wildlife of southern Africa which is a major focus of his current photographic interests.

Sipho S. Ngwenya is a stellar figure in the entertainment world throughout southern Africa. Over the past 20 years, he has acted and presented on many of South Africa’s most popular television shows, and is the recipient of major awards for his accomplishments. His musical career includes several notable CDs and video performances.  More recently, Sipho has focused on producing and directing, and has worked with such contemporary musical stars as Mandoza, DJ Speedsta, DJ Sliqe, Lulo Café, Dj Franky, DJ Switch, Nadia Nakai, and Lebo Mathosa. Making Johannesburg his home, he is currently Commissioning Editor for Mzanse Magic, which won the 2016 SAFTA Awards for Best Music Show.